Our lives are so busy at times that it can be all too easy to focus only on the negative and tiring things that have happened during the week. To counteract this, every week I join the #HappyDaysLinky run by the lovely Katy (whatkatysaid.com) and Sian (quitefranklyshesaid.com) to reflect on all the moments of the past week that have made me happy.

We had such a great time while M was on half-term last week he really didn’t want to go back to school on Tuesday and we are all now on a countdown to the summer holidays. Here are my highlights from the past week:

On Saturday we went to The Forbidden Corner. We’ve been there quite a few times over the years, ever since M was 2, and he always loves it there. L on the other hand wasn’t so sure. I think she quite enjoyed wondering around outside for the most part, but all the inside parts were too dark and scary for her. It’s strange, M used to scare easily when he was younger but this place never frightened him and he loved it. L on the other hand is usually so bold and brave and never scared of anything and yet parts of this place terrified her. We still had a nice day overall but I think it will be a few years before we venture back.

After such a full-on week we decided to have a lazy day on Sunday and it was nice to just hang around the house. We were so lazy I didn’t even cook and we had a takeaway curry instead, always a big hit.

Monday was another fairly relaxed day (apart from the mountains of washing), and we all went out for a pub lunch followed by calling in at the supermarket for pudding (ice-cream for me and L, chocolates for M and some nice cold lager for Keith). We then spent our evening playing computer games all together and having a really good laugh. It was the perfect way to round-off the holidays.

On Tuesday L seemed at a bit of loss being in the house without M and wanted to ‘help’ me with absolutely everything. She had so much fun making the Yorkshire pudding mix, she’s asked for scrambled eggs almost every lunch time since just so she can whisk the eggs.

On Tuesday night Keith painted L’s nails with some bright pink nail polish she got free in a magazine. It’s the first time she’s ever had them painted and when we went out shopping on Wednesday she had to show them off to every single person we walked past, it was so cute.

On Thursday L spent the day wondering around the house with her doll in a pushchair and every now and then the doll would be thrown out and L would sit in it declaring she was a baby.

On Friday we finally got the decking oiled and some hessian put into the big plant pots to stop the constant weeds. The difference it makes when you look outside now is huge and definitely put a big smile on my face.

As the weather was so beautiful after school yesterday we picked M up and headed straight to the hills. We made our way back to the old quarry we discovered last week with a rucksack and filled it with lots of beautiful fluorite stones (looks like quartz) which we then brought back and placed in the tops of the plant pots outside. They’re not all full as it was simply impossible to carry any more but now every time we go out and the kids collect a lovely stone or shell, this is where we will put them.

The weather is terrible today so I don’t think we’ll be venturing far (apart from Keith, he’s off on a 60 mile bike ride!) and we’ll just take tomorrow as it comes.

How about you? What has made you smile this week? Do you have anything planned over the weekend?

Isn’t it just nice to actually chill out & enjoy being together? It’s so typical to try & cram so many activities into your holidays that sometimes it makes you more tired in the end, doesn’t it? I love it that L was showing off her pink nails to everyone – so cute! #happydayslinkyAlex @ That Butterfly Effect recently posted…My Happy Days #25 – Gardening, nursery and rainbow

Hi, I'm Alana. I live in the North East with my husband Keith and two children (8 and 3). This is where I blog about family life and all that it entails, from reviews of days out and toys to advice on how we can not only cope with the chaos of everyday life, but turn it into something beautiful.